United Way to provide an additional $595,000 to local programs

Better than projected financials at the close of 2010, aided by a record-setting campaign last fall, has led United Way of Greenville County to provide additional funding to the 86 local programs it currently funds.

United Way’s board of trustees voted unanimously last week to allocate the additional dollars in two ways:

• Immediately, each of its 86 funded programs will receive a one-time grant equal to 5 percent of the annual allocation it was awarded during last spring’s program funding process. These funds are in addition to the annual program funding they are currently receiving. Collectively, $295,000 is being immediately invested into these important programs.
• In moving forward, the pool of available funds available for program funding will be increased by 5.1 percent or approximately $300,000. These funds will be allocated through the current volunteer-driven program investment process. Funding decisions will be made over the spring and early summer and will be effective on July 1, 2011.

“On behalf of the United Way Board of Trustees, I am thrilled to be able to announce this additional investment into our local programs,” said United Way board chair Howard Boyd, of Gallivan White & Boyd, P.A. “Supporting programs that help individuals, families and neighborhoods with immediate, essential needs is a critical part of United Way’s commitment to helping strengthen our community.”

When the initial funding decisions were made last spring, challenges brought about by the economic recession reduced United Way’s available pool of program investment dollars. A reduction in total campaign pledges over two years (2008 and 2009), a disproportionate increase in designated gifts to specific agencies and programs, and a reduction in investment income combined to force the organization to cut allocations by $800,000.

“The reductions were carefully deliberated and determined to be ultimately unavoidable, but there is no question that these decisions had an impact on services provided by United Way partners,” said Boyd.

Fortunately, since then the picture has brightened, with United Way experiencing a record response from the community during last fall’s $14.7 million campaign, improved collections on pledges from previous years, and a reduction in internal operating expenses.

Knowing the financial hardships experienced by many United Way partner agencies over the past 18 months, Boyd said the decision to use the additional dollars to provide both immediate, one-time allocations and an increase in funds available for the 2011-2012 funding year was an easy one.

“Our partners have worked diligently to minimize any reduction in services despite being in a very difficult economic environment,” said Boyd. “We know these additional dollars will help them better serve the people of Greenville County both immediately and in the coming year.”